


if things were simpler

by SparklingFox



Category: One Piece
Genre: Fluff, M/M, This is pure fluff, also blame milo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-19
Updated: 2018-10-19
Packaged: 2019-08-04 12:38:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16346876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SparklingFox/pseuds/SparklingFox
Summary: AU where Rocinante gets married off to Katakuri. They're soft.





	if things were simpler

**Author's Note:**

> tfw you're neck deep in a crack pairing

“But what if things were simpler? Would you or I be here, in this moment?”

Rocinante asks that question in a guileless manner as he sits on the settee by the windowsill, one knee curled up to his chest as he taps away the ash of his cigarette outside. His eyes are staring out into the night as plumes of smoke curl out from his mouth, almost obscuring his face for a brief moment. _Like a ghost_ , Katakuri thinks. The silence drags on between them, broken only by the noise of the grandfather clock ticking away in the far side of the room.

It’s a question he’s entertained himself. If things weren’t dictated by their families, if their roles weren’t demanded by them, would they be still here? Katakuri himself mused over the possibilities even before they met, an encounter that is now several weeks behind them, and he still does not know how to answer that question. He takes off his gloves slowly before putting them away in a drawer and rubs the pads of his fingers together, focusing on that sensation as he thinks the question over and more importantly, of the man who sits by the windowsill.

The celestial dragon, former perhaps but a simple matter of titles does not erase bloodlines that easily, stretches out his legs and leans back against the settee. Rocinante tilts his head back and looks at him for a few moments before he smiles, his hair in disarray from the angle. It's a soft expression that Katakuri has discovered that he enjoys seeing more than he would have thought. 

“I know that face. You’re starting to brood,” Rocinante says with a curl of his fingers, beckoning him closer as he extinguishes his cigarette into the ashtray with his other hand.

Katakuri takes slow measured steps over to where he sat and stands above him. Rocinante still smiles up at him and cranes his head just so in that inviting angle. A moment later Katakuri is leaning down, his ungloved hand cupping the side of his face and brushes his thumb against Rocinante’s cheek before trailing his hand further down. Katakuri feels him swallow as he drags his hand down before resting it around the other’s neck. A perfect fit. And judging by the pleased noise Rocinante lets out, it’s something he agrees on as well. All too well perhaps.

“You asked the question,” Katakuri replies, leaning down to ghost his breath over Rocinante’s forehead.

“I’ll make it simpler then. If this arrangement never happened, would you have even given me a second glance?”

“No.”

Rocinante smiles at his answer as he places his hand over Katakuri’s. “I’ll always admire your honesty. Blunt as it is at times, _husband,_ ” he says as he nudges Katakuri’s legs with his own, still smiling up at him in that fond manner.

In a few motions Katakuri reclines over the settee and has Rocinante in his lap, the other letting out a small laugh as he gets moved around, but Rocinante folds his arms over Katakuri’s chest all the same as he relaxes above him. Katakuri brushes back the unruly strands of his husbands hair, and finds himself wondering again as to why that title between them felt so natural.

“But imagine both of us, two people who do not have familial obligations of any kind and just to ourselves. What would you be doing?”

“What brought on these questions?”

“I have a lot of time to think when you’re gone since your family won’t let me leave your house,” Rocinante petulantly says as he props up his chin in his hands.

 _A precaution for your own good_ ,Katakuri wants to state but he remains quiet as he thinks over his question once more. He places one hand over Rocinante’s back and idly digs his fingers into the expanse of muscle, smiling despite himself at the low moan the other makes before he becomes a loose-limbed mess on top of him.

“Perhaps I would travel, without expectations or deadlines.”

“Where would you go?” Rocinante murmurs, voice slightly muffled.

“I’m fond of colder climates. And what of you, what would you be doing?”

“Maybe I’ll travel as well. Settle down in a quiet town and work in a library. Maybe I’d see you…”

“That is probably the wisest choice for a profession. You’d recommend a book to me and perhaps bring down an entire shelf in the process.”

Rocinante laughs into the crook of his elbow. A sound that Katakuri does not think he will tire of hearing.

“It wouldn’t be my fault, you’re very handsome. It makes you very distracting,” he says as he stretches forward. His hand trails up Katakuri’s jawline, over his scars and stitches, and his fingers tap against the edges of his teeth. _“Very_ distracting.”

Katakuri kisses the pads of his fingers before nipping at them and he doesn't miss the way Rocinante blushes.

“One day, perhaps, we can both be away from our families.”

The more he thinks about that innocuous scenario, the more Katakuri likes the idea of it. A quiet life away from everything, free from the obligations placed upon them.

“Maybe in another lifetime. Til then I suppose I must fulfill my duties as a dutiful husband, no?”

“If you must,” Katakuri rumbles back and laughs when Rocinante flicks his chin in retaliation.


End file.
